Jewish remembrance and activism at play

CINCINNATI—Kalman Kivkovich didn't foster his creative life until his 60s, but the roots of his writings have been with him since birth.

His parents and their families escaped the Nazis into the Soviet Union. Kivkovich, who built a career in architecture, now seems singularly focused on preventing another Holocaust—this one, he fears, in the Middle East.

With his 2007 book "In the Vise of Evils," Kivkovich launched a run of plays and books that now stretch to 14. His latest, "Bibi," is a one-man show focusing on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political and moral philosophies around Iran.

"All my writing is dedicated to remembering the Holocaust, because very soon we're not going to have the people who lived through that, and it would be easier to say it never happened," he said. "If we don't learn from the past, we're going to create another Holocaust.

"With 'Bibi,' it's about preventing another Holocaust."

The play premieres Tuesday, April 29, at the Jarson-Kaplan Theater at the Aronoff Center and will see three more performances there in late July. This video, featuring Cincinnati actor Robert Pavolovich in the title role, features scenes from a rehearsal and an interview with Kivkovich.